Four Floors Up
by angelkisses87
Summary: After Dean's world comes crashing down he will make the biggest choice of his life. And so begins the Winchester family's fight against not only a venglefull spirit, but something even harder to defeat...thier own demons.
1. Chapter 1

**Four Floors Up Author: Angelkisses87 and Bubblegumthai **

**Rating: M**

**Genre: Drama, Suspense, Supernatural **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or its characters. Lola and Maggie are original creations of angelkisses87 and bubblegumthai**

**Authors note: This is the second of two collaborations with bubblegumthai. It is a follow on from her fiction Come Clean, which is yet to be written.**

**Big thank you to Thai for putting up with my random and sometimes heartbreaking suggestions.**

**Chapter One**

SMASH

Another beer bottle hit the wall, splattering it's contents against the grotesque seventies wallpaper, it's orange and white followers turned brown as the liquid slid to the floor.

Dean stalked over to the bedside table, he swiped off the glass table lamp onto the floor, watching it break into thousands of sharp pieces at his feet. He crunched over the debris to the bed and began kicking his feet against the frame repeatedly, increasing the force with each kick.

The door opened, but went unnoticed to Dean as he continued to kick, the frame beginning to buckle under the force of his attack. Maggie dropped her bag onto the floor, approaching her distraught brother. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she pleaded with him to stop, but he only intensified his kicking. Tightening her grip on his arms, she tried to pull him away only to have his legs give out from under him, bringing them both onto the glass-covered floor abruptly. Leaning his hands on his thighs as he knelt, his head ducked down below his shoulders, Lola's white gold pendant of angel wings hung loosely from his neck, the chain gently touching his chin as tears began to stream down his face with a shaking sob. Maggie crouched down beside him, putting her arm around his back. Reluctantly Dean let her pull him into a hug, letting his head lull onto her shoulder, his tears soaking her shoulder as she soothingly ran her fingers over his hair. Tears of sympathy fell down her cheeks as he continued to shake in her arms; unable to verbally express what he was feeling, the pain too much to hold back any longer.

_Blip. Blip. Blip. Blip._

_The heart monitor kept a steady rhythm as Dean stood at the foot of the bed in shock. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was the one to hold it together. She understood everything. It wasn't supposed to end like this,_

"_You know…" He began without moving his eyes from her pale face, the oxygen tube covering most of her features, "That time I was in the hospital after Gordon stabbed me and she came all the way from England just to be with me and I was such a jerk to her…" He laughed bitterly, shaking his head, "All she wanted was for me to be happy and all I ever did was push her away."_

"_She knows you love her." Maggie whispered,_

"_I wish I'd told her myself. Showed her."_

"_You did. You are very affectionate to her."_

"_I've never felt more guilty about how I treated her than I do now."_

"_Perhaps there's something we can do?" Sam suggested, "A spell or…something?"_

"_Yeah! Lola knew a lot about Whodoo. Perhaps there's something that can help…?" Maggie added. Dean shook his head,_

"_No…only Lola can do this for herself now."_

"_Do you think that she's standing next to us like you were after the accident? Do you think that she can see and hear us?" Sam asked,_

"_No." Dean replied, "That only happens when you're close to death and Lola's going to get through this because she's a strong person. Stronger than me."_

"_Do you want some coffee?" Maggie asked gently. Dean nodded slowly,_

"_Please." He replied in a raspy voice as he felt tears beginning to brim again as Maggie and Sam left him alone in the room, "Damn it Lola…" Dean breathed._

_Bliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip._

"_HELP!" Dean screamed at the door, "I NEED A DOCTOR IN HERE!"_

_Staff came rushing in, pushing Dean out of the way as they started attempting to resuscitate the hunter that lay motionless in the bed. Sam and Maggie must have heard the commotion as they came running in, Sam grabbing Dean's shoulders and dragging him back and away slightly. Everything slowed down again; sounds became low and muffled as Dean screamed for Sam to let him go before crying out for Lola as attempt after attempt to get her heart going again. Dean sunk to the floor as he watched them converse amongst themselves and turn off the heart monitor,_

"_NO!" He yelled, fighting against Sam and Maggie as he writhed on the floor, "GOD DAMN IT!" He screamed as he stood, grabbing the heart monitor and throwing it across the room. He collapsed to his knees, placing his head and arms on the side of the mattress, "Lola!" He growled, shaking her arm,_

"_Dean! Stop it please!" Maggie begged, "I'm sorry she's gone but you need to stop. You're going to hurt yourself. Dean…please…"_

"_Leave me." He growled, turning his eyes harshly on his siblings, "Sam…please…just…five minutes?"_

_Sam looked at Maggie and nodded. The two left Dean alone with Lola's body. Dean stood shakily and looked her strait in the face,_

"_I won't let them win." He told her as he gently stroked her cheek, "It's even more personal now and I will avenge you and my parents. I just…" Tears trickled down his cheeks again, "I pegged so much of my future on you. I know it sounds ridiculous but I stupidly thought that you'd hang around. I hoped you wouldn't leave…" He trailed off, "I wish I'd had a chance to tell you goodbye properly, you know? I wish I'd told you how important you were."_

Dean awoke with a start, sweat beaded on his face, as he had done for the past several nights. He looked over at Sam and Maggie, both sound asleep, before pulling himself up and staggering towards the bathroom. Shutting the door and locking it behind him, he moved to the sink, splashing cold water onto his hot face, trying desperately to wash away the images of Lola's final minutes. He sighed heavily as slid down onto the tiles, pressing his forehead against the cold ceramic of the sink as he slouched against the side of the bathtub.

The waking up in a cold sweat and the lonely walk to the bathroom had become a ritual since the crash. Not a day had gone by where Dean hadn't regretted his decision to take the back roads that day. He wished he'd listened to Sam.

Sam awoke slowly to realize that someone hadn't shut the curtains properly, and the morning light was hitting him in the eyes. He sat up with a stretch and threw a glance to Dean's bed, frowning at the realization that he wasn't sleeping in it. In a panic, Sam jumped up and ran to the bathroom where Dean would often fall asleep. Confirming that he wasn't there, he ran to Maggie's bed and shook her arm frantically,

"Whah…?" Maggie groaned as she awoke, rolling onto her back and looking at Sam with a frown, "What's going on?"

"Dean's gone."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"He's not here. Not in his bed or in the bathroom."

"He's probably gone to get some breakfast…" Maggie dismissed, swiping at the air,

"At five in the morning?" Sam asked, arching an eyebrow,

"Ah. Probably not."

With a sigh, Maggie through her duvet to the side and rolled her legs over the edge to pull on some jeans. As she finished zipping them up and the siblings were about to launch a search party, the door opened and in strolled Dean carrying two large paper shopping bags, clinking as he shut the door behind him. Sam looked at his brother with a dry, withering look of disbelief, his lips pursed seriously together. Maggie collapsed onto her bed backwards with a sigh of relief before she heard another chink of glass, causing her to look up quickly in shock,

"What's in the bags, Dean?" Sam asked quietly. He knew all too well what his brother had bought, but was hoping that he was wrong,

"Supplies."

Sam marched over and peered into the top of one of the bags,

"Oh really? Where's the food, Dean?"

"Ugh." Dean growled, rolling his eyes, "Give me a break…"

"No." Sam said seriously, grabbing his arm, "We've been treading on eggshells for weeks, giving you space to deal with Lola's death, but it's been a month now. You need to get a grip."

Maggie put her face in her hands, preparing for the fight she felt brewing between her two brothers,

"Get a grip?" He snorted before shaking his head, "You don't understand." He muttered,

"Understand?" Sam laughed bitterly, "I understand, Dean…" He lowered his voice, pointing one hand at his own chest, holding the other out to one side, "If anyone understands, it's me. When I lost Jess…"

Dean narrowed his eyes, cutting Sam off,

"Lola is NOT Jess." He said sternly, "And I'm not you, Sammy…I can't just turn around and forget that she ever was there!"

Sam grew tired of his brother and suddenly launched a fist into the older man's jaw angrily,

"SAM!" Maggie gasped in shock, jumping up and standing between the two as Dean held his face, blood trickling from his lip, "Boys…please…" She whispered, tears welling in her eyes, "Fighting like this isn't going to bring Lola back…and neither's drinking your life away…you should both be ashamed…I'm glad she can't see the pair of you like this."

"I'm not going to do it anymore, Dean." Sam said softly, "I'm not gonna sit there and watch you destroy yourself."

Maggie turned as Dean stalked towards the doorway,

"We're just worried about you." She said softly. Dean paused in the doorway with a frown,

"Well that's great. When I have a problem, I'll let you both know."

Sam shook his head, letting out a little huff of bitter amusement, Maggie's eyes softening at the look in Dean's eyes. Dean thrust the door open and took a step out, calling over his shoulder;

"I'll be in the car when you two have finished with your little intervention." He spat before slamming the motel room door shut behind him. The others flinched at the loud bang. Sam shuffled his feet awkwardly as he and Maggie exchanged worried looks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Darkness fell as the trio continued to drive, looking for a place to stop. It was still winter and the nights came on early and suddenly; it was not uncommon for the three siblings to be driving in complete darkness,

"There's a motel about three miles ahead." Sam said to Dean who simply grunted in response. Sam caught Maggie's glance in the rear-view mirror. She smiled sadly at him when suddenly the car swerved across the road violently, "Dean!" Sam snapped. Dean held his hands up from the steering wheel in defense,

"Nothing to do with me!" He exclaimed as the car continued to drive itself. Dean grabbed the steering wheel tightly in an attempt to regain control but it only began to swerve more violently. Dean lifted his hands off again for fear of the pressure hurting his arms as the car skidded, the breaks hitting themselves. It skidded sideways before stopping suddenly. The force pushed the three forwards and as they sat up, they were startled to see three figures before them in the Impala's strong headlights. All four doors of the car popped open as Dean and Sam looked at one another warily, "Take your gun." Dean told Sam gently as he grabbed the shotgun from the back and stepped out,

"Wait here." Sam said to Maggie over his shoulder,

"Screw that." She frowned, climbing out of the car also and moving beside Dean. Sam walked around the back of the car to join his siblings,

"Ahh...the Winchesters…" Smirked one of figures,

"Demons." Dean growled, his eyes narrowing, "What do you want?"

"Your help."

"Screw you!" Dean yelled, "Now I suggest you be on your way…"

"You haven't heard us out yet." Said another, a female voice that was misleadingly soft, "We'd be prepared to make you a very good offer."

"We don't make deals with demons." Sam said seriously,

"Dean does."

"One of our own has turned on us." Continued the first demon, "A Djinn. He's been claiming payment on other demon's deals, taking contract-ees before their time is fully up. We need your help to trap him. Like we said…we'd offer you a high price."

"The Djinn, he took someone very dear to you." Said the female demon, "She died so young and in so much pain…it seems a waste really…"

"Son of a bitch…" Maggie breathed as realization hit, shaking her head,

"No." Sam said flatly, "We don't help demons, right Dean?"

"…right."

"You don't sound convinced, Dean." The female said with a grin, "And besides…we're not asking the sidekick. Don't be so selfish, Sam…"

"Once people are dead. They should stay dead." Sam sneered through gritted teeth, "Go away."

"That's a good point, Sam." Spoke the first demon, "How is that stab wound? Healing up nicely?"

"We're done here." Sam said as he grabbed his brother's arm, "Let's go."

"No? Are you sure you can't be persuaded? She'd have a nice, full lifespan like she was supposed to."

"Try asking someone else." Maggie shot back as the three moved back into the car,

"Very well…"

Sam, Maggie and Dean reluctantly pile into the car, keeping their eyes on the three demons. Dean sat staring ahead, Sam watching him carefully. He tried clearing his throat before speaking to Dean in a serious tone,

"Dean! Move it! Let's get out of here!"

Without a word, Dean slammed his foot on the accelerator and reversed, speeding away from the three that stood in the road watching after the black Impala. The three feel back into the awkward silence they'd shared before the encounter until Maggie tentatively leant forwards, placing a gentle hand on Dean's shoulder,

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He muttered, shrugging her grip off of him,

"Yeah right…" Sam muttered, "You weren't seriously considering doing what they were asking, were you?" Sam asked, but Dean's silence told him everything he needed, "Oh my God…that's just…you're just…don't! Don't even go there Dean! Don't even think about it! Lola is dead. There is nothing you can do for her now."

Dean pulled into the car park of a motel as Sam drew in another breath to continue his rant. Sam shook his head with a sigh,

"You're so stupid…" He muttered.

Dean leant across his brother, opening the door for him. Sam frowned,

"Out." Dean said seriously, his eyes on the blank space ahead of the car, "Both of you."

"Dean…don't do this…" Maggie pleaded,

"GET OUT!" Dean yelled, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. With a huff and a pout, Sam got out of the car, Maggie followed, a little unsure. As soon as they closed the doors, dust was kicked up into their faces as Dean and his car sped off into the darkness. Maggie and Sam exchanged nervous looks as they were left standing in the dark, thunder rippling ominously across the sky.

Dean walked through the rickety door of the musky, old bar, shaking off the rain from his brown leather jacket as he moved towards the bar between the tables of drinks and poker players,

"Gimme a whiskey." He said grimly to the barman,

"Single or double?" The barman asked dryly. Dean held up a note between his fingers, his eyes focused on the sticky bar top,

"Bottle." He replied simply as the barman placed an empty glass down before him, snatching the note up before slamming a heavy bottle of brown liquid down before him.

Half the bottle later…

Dean wobbled slightly towards the men's room, glancing quickly over his shoulder to check that his bottle of whiskey was still where he'd left it, albeit in his eyes there were two in it's place now. As he leant one hand on the wall, he became aware of the light flickering. Normally he'd think nothing of it until a shadow loomed over him from the side. He looked up, raising his eyebrows before breaking out into a scowl,

"You again."

"Hello Dean. I see you've lost your entourage." Beamed the first demon from before, "Was it little Sammy's bed time? You must be this high to enter the bar area."

"What do you want now?"

"We still want your help and we're still willing to return you the girl as payment."

"…if I did," He began seriously, "how long would you give her?"

"Well, normally it would be until her deal with the original demon ran it's course, but as a big thank you from all of us to you, we'd waiver that just this once and let her live for as long…or as short…as she would naturally, supposing she doesn't cut any other deals along the way…or step out in front of a bus, that is. We understand the Djinn has been after your friend for a long time. It wasn't her time Dean and she misses you so much…" The demon teased with a pout, "You should hear her Dead…screaming for you. Screaming in the dark and the flames. I mean…your father's burning for you and now your girlfriend's burning for you…all these people sacrificing themselves for Dean Winchester…that's got to be good for your ego."

"What do you want me to do?"

"So we have a deal?"

"No. I want to know what I'd have to do to get Lola back."

"All you'd have to do is summon him and trap him and then leave him for us. Simple really. Five minutes work for a whole life." The demon reached out, taking Lola's necklace from around Dean's neck between his fingers, toying with the wings as he mused thoughtfully, "A whole lifetime with Lola…"

Dean swiped the demon's arm away with a growl. The demon looked on at him expectantly, a smirk creeping across his lips as he watched Dean's face,

"Fine." He finally answered, "We have a deal."

"Wonderful. We'll be watching Dean…and remember…the faster you do it…the faster you'll get what you want."

Dean staggered from the bathroom and back into the bar where he grabbed his bottle of whiskey and headed for the car park. The Impala swerved a little as he drove, desperately searching for a crossroads, the rain pelting down upon the car's roof and bonnet so hard it sounded like hale. He screeched to a stop at the first crossroads he came across, compiling his box still filled with the necessary items of when he made the deal for Sam. He whispered a few words as he covered the box, ensuring that he'd summon the right demon. He swallowed hard in preparation. Djinn's were fire demons, known for being particularly strong and dangerous. Dean straitened as he heard footsteps crunching on the gravely road. Walking towards him was a pale-skinned woman with vibrant blue eyes and long red hair, her china-like skin marred with black symbols. With every step she took a small flame remained on the ground below before fizzling out slowly as a line of flame trailed behind her,

"And what can I do for you then, Dean?" She asked sweetly, stepping over the line of the trapment circle that Dean had drawn before hand. Dean took a step back and as he did, the three demons appeared behind the Djinn in a flourish,

"You can't help him…but you can certainly help us."

"You tricked me!" She growled, whirling around and facing Dean who smiled bitterly,

"Yeah well…I did it for a greater good. You'll get over it in time…" He said before turning to the other three, "Am I done here?"

"Yes. Nice job."

"Where is she?"

"Oh…she's around…"

"DAMN IT! Where is Lola?"

"Don't worry Dean…you're so touchy…poor girl, I honestly don't know how she puts up with you…" He breathed, rolling his eyes, "You'll see her soon. She'll come to you, don't worry. We ALWAYS keep to our word."

"Yes…I noticed…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 

"Do you think that he's okay?" Maggie asked Sam quietly as she sat on the end of her bed, staring at Sam who was stood by the window, watching the rain flood the car park,

"He's probably at a bar…"

"Sam…this isn't good…" Maggie whispered softly, "I know that she meant a lot to him, but he's really hurting still. Do you think that maybe we didn't help him enough in the beginning? Do you think we were wrapped up in our own grief to see that he was slipping?"

"…maybe."

Knock. Knock.

The two exchanged confused looks as Sam moved cautiously to the door. Maggie jumped up to stand beside him as he pulled open the door. The pair stood in shock at the person before them, their mouths slightly open as they gaped at the doorway. Standing before them, soaked to the skin and shivering, her arms wrapped tightly around herself was Lola, her auburn ringlets flattened and plastered to her face, large blue eyes staring at Sam especially. He thought he saw tears roll down her cheeks, though she was so wet from the rain, he wasn't sure until she suddenly lunged forwards into his arms, pressing herself against his chest in her dark jeans and black button-up shirt. He hadn't quite been sure that she was real until he felt his arms move around her as she sobbed into his shirt. He looked at Maggie who looked down at Lola sadly.

The door opened and in staggered Dean, still feeling a little woozy from the bottle of Whiskey that he'd finished on the drive home. He stumbled against the wall slightly, slamming the door closed behind him; he looked up to see Sam and Maggie sitting side-by-side on the first bed, looking at him in sheer disbelief,

"What?" Dean asked with a slight slur.

Before either one could answer, the bathroom door opened and there stood Lola, towel drying her hair, her head tilted to one side. Dean froze for a second before rushing across the room and grabbing her in a hug, squeezing her tight as he buried his face in her wet hair,

"Thank God it worked…" He breathed, gently taking her face between his palms and holding it there, pressing his forehead against hers so that he stared into her eyes,

"Dean…" She began carefully, "Not that it isn't great to see you…but what on earth have you done?"

He frowned, moving his face back slightly,

"Has the romance died already?"

Lola choked slightly,

"With that breath…yes!" She gagged, "Dean…two words…tic tac. Seriously…you smell like a liquor store! Where've you been? You're soaking! And more importantly why the hell am I alive?"

"You did it, didn't you Dean? You helped them." Sam cut in seriously. Dean turned to him and was about to shout back until Maggie jumped in,

"Please don't fight!" Maggie begged, "It's been done now. There's nothing we can do…"

"No Maggie. Dean has to realize that what he's done isn't just having his way like he always does; it's got serious consequences! If the other hunters found out that Dean helped demons he'd be dead!"

Lola moved a little closer to Dean, tightening her grip on his arm,

"Dean…please tell me you didn't." She whispered. He turned back to her, sad faced,

"I had to. It was the only way to bring you back. I didn't want to lose you."

"…you're so stupid…" She whimpered, shaking her head as tears rolled down her cheeks, "How could you?!"

"Stupid doesn't even cut it! It was selfish and reckless! He's put us all in danger!"

"Selfish? You're just jealous that you couldn't do it for Jess!"

Lola cringed slightly, as did Maggie as the two brothers stared one another down, breathing heavily,

"You arrogant asshole…" Sam growled, shaking his head in disbelief, "You're pathetic and you've betrayed everyone."

"Sam…that's enough…just take five minutes and cool your head." She breathed, ushering him towards the door. Dean turned back to Lola and took her face again,

"I'm so happy to have you back." He said softly, planting a kiss on her lips, though she pulled away,

"You stink." She said flatly, "And I am furious with you! I mean…furious doesn't even get close…I'm…I'm…so angry it hasn't been invented yet!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air, "Everyone thinks I'm dead! All my friends and all the hunters think I'm dead…that means that all I have is you, Sam and Maggie…for the rest of my life! You three!"

"What's wrong with that?" Dean asked with a shrug,

"Come on Dean…" Maggie sighed, "You of all people should know that family comes first."

"Well here," Dean extended his phone to Lola, "Call your brother. Tell him it was a mistake."

"Yes…because that won't scare the crap out of the poor guy! Hey bro'! Lola here…just figured I'd let you know, I'm alive again! Chat soon! Kiss kiss!" Maggie muttered, "And like Sam said…if those other hunters find out you did what you did, they'll want your head."

"Your selfishness amazes me Dean Winchester." Lola murmured,

"Selfish? I watched you die!" He growled, pointing at himself in the chest, "I think that's enough to justify what I did."

"No it's not Dean…" Maggie said softly as Lola took a step back and away from him, shaking her head,

"And now I get to watch you die. Thanks Dean. Thanks a lot." She huffed before slamming the bathroom door in his face,

"God damn it…" He growled, pounding his fists on the door,

"I'm going to find Sam. I suggest you sleep it off." She told Dean sternly before walking out of the room. With a groan, Dean collapsed on the nearest bed, letting his eyes drift closed.

He awoke to bright sunlight and the smell of coffee close by. He opened his eyes slowly and cautiously to see Sam standing over him,

"How's your head?" Sam asked dryly,

"…it hurts." He groaned. Sam glanced around quickly before dropping to a crouching position by Dean's bed, "God…we're not gonna have a tender moment are we? It's too early in the morning…" He grumbled, rolling over so that his back was to his brother,

"Do you remember what you did last night?"

"Uh…" Dean licked his lips, struggling to recall the events through the haze of a hang over, "In a word, no."

"You're awake."

Dean sat bolt upright at the sound of the new voice that spoke from somewhere behind, near to Sam. He turned, his mouth dropping open,

"Oh God…" He murmured,

"Is it coming back to you now?" Sam asked as he stood up to stand beside Lola, who extended a polystyrene cup of black coffee to him,

"Drink up Dean. You're taking me to get my truck back."

Dean was still sat in shock as he began remembering the events leading up to his return the previous night. He sighed, shaking his head at his own stupidity, though another look of her told him that if he could go back, he'd still do it again,

"Did you hear me?" She asked, shaking the cup slightly in his face. He took it and she dropped down on the side of the bed, flopping backwards across his lap. He looked down at her, an eyebrow raised,

"I thought you were angry with me."

"I am." She stated simply, "But I can't be angry forever, right? And besides…I thought about it last night…and…" She took in a shaking breath, "as stupid as it was I'm glad to be back with you."

"It was stupid." Sam said as he came and sat beside Lola, "But Maggie's right, what's done is done and I understand why you did it."

Dean smiled weakly,

"Thanks." He mumbled before breaking out into a cheeky grin, "You see! You DO love me!"

"Don't push it, Dean." Sam said seriously as Maggie wandered in carrying a paper bag,

"Morning Dean!" She chirped loudly, causing the eldest hunter to cringe and duck his head slightly. He sniffed the air,

"Do I smell…Danish?" He asked hopefully,

"Maybe…" Maggie replied with a smile,

"You know…I drive much better on a full stomach."

"Get dressed Dean." Lola breathed as she sat up, "Maggie…my shoes are still wet…do you have any that I could borrow?"

"I think your feet are too big. Try Sam's."

"HEY!" Lola snapped, "They're not THAT big!"

"Hey!" Sam whined,

"People…people…" Dean whimpered, "Noise level…inside voices…"

"Ugh. Take an aspirin and suck it up." Maggie said sternly,

"Lola…" Dean began carefully, "Will you…?"

"Nope." She said before pulling on a pair of Dean's socks, "Looks like I'm going in my socks then, huh?"

"You mean my socks."

"My socks." Lola said plainly before turning to Sam, "So what's been happening while I was…uh…away?"

The three exchanged awkward looks before Sam pulled a lie out of thin air,

"There's been no activity at all."

Lola frowned,

"I find that hard to believe." She said,

"It was really strange." Sam continued, "It was all quiet until you returned."

"Huh. Odd."

Maggie and Sam looked at one another before Maggie cleared her throat,

"Sam…do you wanna come back to get another coffee with me? I just realized that I forgot mine."

"You drank it on the way back here." Lola said simply,

"Oh…so I did. I think I need another one. I feel like I haven't had anything yet! Can't get enough of those Mochas!"

"Okay." Sam said with a shrug, "So I guess we'll see you guys this afternoon once you get back from Bobby's place."

Lola nodded and Dean groaned, hiding his head beneath the covers,

"My head…" He mumbled, "Oh…and Sammy…" Dean called, pulling the duvet off of his face and looking over at his brother, who'd paused in the doorway, "Have a look around and find us a job, yeah?"

Sam smirked, knowing his brother was back on form. He nodded,

"Gotcha."

"I know what Dean did was really stupid…" Maggie began tentatively, "Could you of maybe said to Lola welcome back? I mean…you did make her feel pretty unwelcome. And she obviously cares for you very much, Sam, she went strait to you when she came through that door."

Sam brushed back a few stray strands of hair out of his eyes as he looked down at the ground glumly,

"I didn't really think about that." He said quietly, "God…I guess that was pretty bad."

"You think?" She smiled, "I'm sure she'll forgive you. God knows what attracts her to the Winchester charm." She joked before turning serious again, "Are you going to tell her about Dean's problem? God knows he's not going to and if he tries to hide it from her, she'll find out eventually. I think she'll be hurt if no one told her…I mean…he's practically killing himself!"

"Maybe he'll stop now that she's back."

"You can't just stop, Sam! And even if he does…she still has a right to know."

Sam nodded slowly,

"I'll tell her." He said, stopping and looking at Maggie thoughtfully, "Did you hear him as we left?"

"No. Why? What did he say?"

"He told me to find us a hunt while he's gone."

Maggie's eyes widened before she broke out into a grin,

"The Dean Winchester we know is back" She laughed, "Hide the pie!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four 

Later that morning, Dean turned the wheel, pulling the Impala into Bobby's yard, parking it alongside of the scrap metal. Lola fiddled with her bottom lip, her knees drawn up to her chest as she sat, staring ahead,

"Okay?" Dean asked, turning in his seat and draping his arm across the back of the front seat. She nodded slowly before turning her face to look at him,

"Scared."

"Of what?"

"Bobby."

"Pfft! Don't be scared of Bobby! He's harmless."

"It's not me I'm worried about."

"Ah. Yeah. I get your point." Dean sighed, moving his eyes off to the side guiltily. She leant forwards, placing a kiss on his forehead reassuringly, "I have a gun." She told him with a wink before turning and leaving the car. Bobby had spotted Dean's car and was making his way out of his workshop, rubbing his greasy hands on a dirty cloth, when Lola stepped out of the black Impala. He stopped dead before pursing his lips and shaking his head angrily,

"Hey Bobby…I hear you have my truck!" Lola tried to pretend like nothing had ever changed. Bobby nodded before motioning with his head over to her precious pick-up truck that stood amongst the heaps of junk. She grinned, running forwards to her truck, jumping onto the bonnet and hugging it, pressing her face against the hot black surface of the bonnet with a happy sigh. Dean walked around his car, watching with a smirk before turning his face to Bobby, he looked as if he were about to kill him,

"Uh...hey Bobby!" He greeted sheepishly, though Bobby was having none of it. He grabbed Dean's arm and hauled him inside,

"What the hell have you done this time? How many times do I have to tell you? The dead stay dead, Dean…"

"How do you know I'd done anything?"

"I know you." He said seriously, "And besides, I spoke to Sam a few days ago about how you were doing. I worried you'd think of something."

"It's fine. The damage has been done now."

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" He bellowed, "What did you do to get her back? How long do you have now? A week?"

"I didn't cut a deal…I just…helped them a little."

"You HELPED them?"

"I trapped a Djinn for them and in return, they gave Lola back. It wasn't her time, they said so."

"People don't have times. They go when they go, Dean. You're so stupid! How could you betray us like that?"

Dean laughed bitterly, turning to walk back to the car,

"I've heard this already…and I'm not in the mood to hear it again…" He muttered. Bobby slammed his hands down on his workbench,

"Well you're gonna hear it! Dean! Your father would not want you doing this!"

"Well dad's not here…and if he was…he'd understand."

"Don't fool yourself Dean. All those years and he never brought your mother back. You don't do deals with demons."

"I didn't do a deal. I helped them on a one off to bring Lola back. End of."

"And what's to stop them approaching you again?"

"They have nothing they can offer me."

"Who said they'd offer you anything?" Bobby asked quietly, "What if they threatened to take her back if you didn't help? Or what if they took Sam? Or Maggie?"

"I would never let that happen!"

"So you're just going to keep helping them?"

"You don't understand."

"Dean…we've all lost people in this job, but we'd never sacrifice or endanger everything on it. When Trey died Lola almost gave up on life all together but she pulled herself up and was back and stronger than ever. It can be done. It has to be done."

"Who's Trey?" Dean asked with a frown,

"Stay on the subject, Dean. What I'm getting at is when someone dies and it's not natural, you pull yourself together and you carry on fighting because that's one more person that's died for the cause. A cause you have a job to complete, Dean. Lola's a hunter and she knows the dangers. You should've left her and pulled yourself out of your drunken stupor!"

"Okay, you've definitely been talking to Sammy."

"What did you expect? You're coming home drunk and smelling like a bar every night. You've been replacing bottles of Bud' for food. What were you trying to do? Send yourself down to hell after her? What about Sam? Didn't you realize how much it hurt to watch his brother destroying himself?"

Dean turned and stalked to the door,

"Thanks for the psychology session, Doctor…but I'm fine…really." He reassured before stomping back outside to Lola's truck where she was hunting around under the tuck-bed cover frantically, "Lost something?" He asked, squinting in the midday sun,

"Yeah…what did you do with my necklace?" She asked with a frown, looking up at him. He reached beneath his shirt and pulled the white gold chain out from under the plaid fabric and t-shirt. Lola smiled as he reached around to unclasp it. She touched the back of his hand with hers and shook her head,

"Keep it on." She said seriously, "It looks better on you anyhow."

"Lola," Bobby began as he approached, eyeing Dean irritably, "Your brother came by a week after you…well, you know."

"How's he look?"

"Upset." Bobby said simply, "Dean wrote him a letter, he wanted to know more so he came here."

"How'd he know to come here?"

"I left Bobby's address on the letter so he could come and get your truck." Dean said, leaning against the truck-bed,

"I guess he didn't want it?" Lola sighed, smoothing her hand over the paintwork. Bobby shook his head,

"No. He told me I could sell it on and to send the money to Dean. He mentioned having a stone put in the church yard for you."

Lola forced a smile,

"Why the money to Dean? Did he say?"

Bobby shrugged,

"I think he was thankful that Dean had written to him and told him what had happened. He asked who he was and I said they you two were very good friends and that Dean was by your side until the end and I think he appreciated that you weren't alone."

Lola wiped at her eyes,

"It's better that he doesn't know. It's safer for him that I never see him again. He has small children and I could never live with myself if anything happened to them."

Bobby nodded understandably,

"It's going to be difficult for you Lola." He said seriously, "A lot of people knew you. When people found out, there were some lovely things said about you. I think some of your old friends made a marker for you and placed it along with the others. There're so many there now, after the Road House burnt down…"

Lola nodded slowly,

"Well thanks for holding my truck."

"Take care."

"I will do." She called as Bobby wandered off again, back to his workshop. Lola turned to Dean and pushed herself against him, forcing him to hug her back, "Shall I follow you?" She asked quietly. He nodded,

"Yeah…are you going to be okay driving?"

"No. I figured I'd crash." She said dryly, "I'll be fine. It can't be any more dangerous than driving with you. And I cannot take your music any longer! It's terrible."

"Hey! I'm a good driver!"

"Hey Maggie I think I got one." Sam called to his sister who was paying for her third cup of Mocha. She turned from the counter, polystyrene cup in one hand a powdered doughnut in the other and sat down next to Sam in the crowded café.

Spinning the newspaper round to her view, Maggie scanned the column that Sam had highlighted.

25 year old, High school teacher, Tessa Smith was found dead at the bottom of the stairs of St Edmonds, English block yesterday. The cause of death is still unknown and local authorities have suspects.

The maths teacher is the fifth death that the catholic school has suffered in the past month. Just last week a fellow colleague, Mr. Johnson was found at the bottom of the same set of stairs, bearing the same marks and bruising on the neck as Ms Smith, as did the three other victims before them. Police suspect hanging although no murder weapon has been found and the positions in which the bodies were found also suggest that the teachers were pushed.

"You think this is our kind of gig." Maggie asked, mouth full of pastry.

"I do, the fact that there were no witnesses, no murder weapon is strange enough, but I had a look into the history of the school…" Sam replied turning his silver laptop round to Maggie's view, … "Six years ago 5 teachers died on the same stairs bearing the same marks on the neck and the cops didn't have any suspects then either."

"So where is the school?" Maggie enquired as Sam pulled the laptop away from her fingers that were covered in icing, "About 20 miles from here." He replied, wiping his precious keyboard clean, his face frowning in disgust.

"Awesome…Maggie mumbled, shoving the last of the doughnut into her mouth, "lets go tell the others."

They arrived at the motel room as they two Chevrolet's pulled up in front. Sam and Maggie waved as Lola hopped down out of the cabin, dragging her black holder behind her, desperate to get out of Maggie's clothes that were two tight on her larger frame. Dean jogged quickly after her,

"Lola," He began, "Are you okay? Really?" He asked gently,

"It hurt, to hear what Bobby had to say about my brother and my friends but I think it's for the best. Everyone's safer now…except the people I'm closest to…which is you guys."

"I would rather be here than safe without you." He said seriously, "Uhm, who's Trey?"

Lola cautiously looked at him, moving herself away a little,

"Who mentioned him?"

"Bobby did."

Lola sighed heavily,

"Trey was a hunter. A very good one at that…he just…" She trailed off, "Didn't make it, like so many of the good ones don't. We were up near Canada when it happened. It was a vampire." She said seriously, looking at the ground, "Got him with his own gun. There was nothing I could've done. It was just the two of us then…we'd left the safety of our group. I…I wish we hadn't, but we thought we'd be okay. So long as we had each other, nothing could hurt us. We were wrong." She looked up at him, tears glistening on her cheeks, "And that was Trey, or rather, that was the end of Trey. He was a good man, we were very close."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It was two years ago, when I first started out hunting. It's in the past now. There's nothing I can do but honor his memory."

"…do you wish I hadn't brought you back?"

"I do because there are so many reasons it was wrong…but I'm glad you did because I never got to say goodbye and now every time you go out of my sight, I'm going to tell you whatever's one my mind and give you a proper goodbye because now I know that I don't know what could happen next."

Dean nodded in understanding,

"And what's on your mind now?"

"That'd be telling…" She smiled, "I was just thinking how much you mean to me." She told him before walking on ahead, "Time to change…considering Maggie eats so much, I'd imagine her clothes to fit me a little better. I think I'm losing all the circulation to my extremities."

"Dean!" Maggie exclaimed as they walked in, "Catch!" She threw a doughnut through the air for Dean to catch; he did and looked at it hungrily before stuffing it into his mouth,

"Mmmm…" He mumbled, closing his eyes in pleasure. Lola looked on, horrified,

"Now there's a man that likes his doughnuts a little too much!"

"I like my doughnuts like I like my women…"

"What? Round and with a hole in the middle?"

"Uh…maybe…?"

"You're an idiot." Sam sighed, "Come here, I wanna show you what we found…"

"So let me get this strait…we've got to somehow get into this school and check it out?" Dean said skeptically, "Sam, those schools are massive! We'd need to know ahead of time what's going on in there, perhaps we could talk to some of the kids…?"

"Or…" Sam began, turning his head to look at Maggie and Lola who were stood across the room, leaning back on a large chest of drawers, "…we could go undercover."

Both girls stood oblivious to his meaning until suddenly, both their eyes widened in realization,

"Oh no!" Maggie cried, holding her hands up in defense, "I am not going through pimples and hormones again! Thank you very much!"

"Yeah!" Lola agreed, placing her hands on her hips, "We're not dolls you can dress up and play with, y'know!"

"You got a better idea?" Sam asked,

"No!" Lola shot back,

"We have to go under cover all the time." Dean said with a shrug, "It shouldn't be anything a couple of pistols like you two couldn't handle!" He said with a wink. Lola rolled her eyes,

"We're not gonna win this, huh?" Maggie sighed,

"Nope." Sam replied,

"Nuh uh." Dean agreed,

"Maybe it'll be fun?" Lola suggested with a shrug. Maggie stared at her before laughing sarcastically. She knew all too well it wasn't going to be fun.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five 

Maggie stepped out of the bathroom, tugging her blue and black tartan skirt down and fiddling with the matching tie. Sam laughed loudly and Maggie stopped dead, staring at him with a piercing glare,

"Now I remember why I quit school in the first place…" She mused as Sam had well and truly shut up, "This is torture! Surely!" She cried, throwing her arms up in the air, "It has to be illegal! I mean…for a religion with such high morals, you'd think the skirts would be longer!"

"Nice socks." Dean commented as he walked through the door,

"Do you want me to shoot you? I'll do it."

"You look…good though, seriously." Dean continued, "Uh…" He trailed off, not knowing where to look,

"And may I remind you, Dean…I am your sister…"

Sam looked at Dean, appalled while Dean rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly,

"Lola!" Dean yelled, banging his fist on the bathroom door, "You're gonna be late for school!"

"Perfection takes time!" She called back whilst Maggie leant forwards, fidgeting with her long white socks,

"They itch…should they itch?" She asked Sam who shrugged,

"You ask me like I would know."

"You would."

"I get nothing but abuse in this family." He sighed,

"Awh…leave him alone, he can't help being a geek!" Dean cooed. The bathroom door and out stepped Lola, striking a dramatic pose. She wore her hair in low bunches, her hair in ringlets savor her fringe that was strait and swept across her face that was lightly made-up. She marched across the room, grabbing a cardigan and a jumper,

"Maggie, which do you want?" She asked holding them up, "They'll both be huge on you."

"Throw me the jumper." Lola did before pulling the cardigan's sleeves over her arms. She buttoned the middle two buttons and straitened her collar, top button undone. With a twisted face of irritation, she rubbed the top of her right shoe on the back of her left leg,

"These socks itch." She said matter-of-factly,

"So we hear…" Sam said before looking up at his brother, "Close your mouth."

"Shall we go?" Lola asked as she bent and scooped up her leather school satchel, "This has got to be the lamest outfit I've worn in a long time and let's all bear in mind that I used to take my clothes off for a living!"

Maggie took a double take before shaking her head,

"You know what? I don't even want to know…"

As the car rumbled up in front of the large school building, the foursome sat in silence, staring ahead as teenagers milled around them,

"Right." Maggie said briskly, "Let's get going, Lola."

"Okay…what's the plan?" Lola asked, slapping her hands down gently onto her bare knees,

"Well I think we should try making friends with as many people as possible. That way we should hear any rumors that might be going around."

"Okay, well I'll take them over there…" Lola said as she pointed to a group of boys standing beneath a large oak tree, tossing a football between them, "And you can have the geeks."

"Why do I have to make friends with the geeks?!" Maggie fumed, "Guys…back up here!"

"Well…" Sam began carefully, "Lola probably would do better with the jocks…I mean…she's uh…"

"Be careful what you say here, Sam." Lola warned, "There are so many options that could insult either one of us."

"Lola's more confident." Sam finally settled on, looking proud of himself,

"Good answer." Lola and Maggie answered in unison, before Lola popped open the door, stepping out. Maggie rolled her eyes as a few people stopped to take notice,

"Oh brother…" She muttered, following Lola who was looking around curiously,

"Later guys!" She called as Maggie shut the car door,

"Lola…" Dean called as they began to walk away. Lola stopped, mid-step and turned walking back to the car, leaning down on the windowsill so she was at face-level with him,

"Yes Dean?" She asked, tilting her head to one side, kicking the toes of her shoe against the sidewalk absent-mindedly. Dean was about to speak when he noticed over her shoulder a trio of boys walking passed, admiring the view. One whistled,

"Hello gorgeous…" He drawled,

"Yeah…keep walkin' punk!" Dean growled,

"Alright gramps…keep your jacket on…"

"God sweetie…your dad always this uptight?"

Sam stifled a laugh as Dean growled, reaching behind him but Lola grabbed his shoulders sternly,

"Drop it."

"What?"

"Your gun. They're just kids." She said seriously. He huffed, placing his hands back on the steering wheel,

"Be careful. Both of you."

"It's a Catholic school. What's the worst that could happen? Get a bible thrown at me?"

"You be careful." Lola said simply, "It's about time someone said it to you." She whispered before leaning in and pecking him on the lips quickly, "Bye Sam."

"Bye guys!" Sam called after them as they disappeared up the stairs and into the main building. The two sat there for a couple of minutes to keep an eye on things. They remained in silence until a group of girls in the same uniforms as Lola and Maggie wandered past slowly, peering into the car and giggling shyly. Dean turned to Sam with a smirk,

"Maybe we should enroll too…"

"Dude…they're seventeen. You are way too old!"

"What's with everyone calling me old this morning?"

"Well…that jacket is…"

"Ugh…" Dean breathed, rolling his eyes and turning the engine on to pull away.

Maggie and Lola wandered down the center of the hall looking thoroughly confused. Maggie stopped, looking down at the piece of paper in her hands,

"I'm lost." She said honestly, "I think…maybe…in here? Lola, why are people staring?"

Lola shrugged,

"Because we're hot?"

"Did you suddenly lose fifty IQ points as soon as you put that outfit on or something?"

"I'm in character…"

"If you had said 'duh' at the end of that sentence, I would've smacked you."

"Shall we just try this one?"

"Yeah…sure…why not? What's the worst that could happen?"

"Be shamed for the rest of our school lives?"

"What? The whole week?"

"Exactly."

"…you amaze me sometimes, you really do."

Lola grinned, grabbing Maggie's hand and pulling her into the classroom, which was full of students. The teacher turned and smiled brightly,

"You must be Maggie and Lola, right?"

"That's us!" Lola replied happily,

"Welcome to Saint Edmunds girls. I'm Mister Milne and this is your Maths class. Ladies and gentlemen…please welcome Lola and Maggie who've just arrived from Texas. What brought you to our little town?"

"Our dads." Lola said as she placed her arms behind her back sweetly, "They're in the navy."

"Ahh…I see…so what kind of things did you enjoy doing in Texas?"

"Farming…" One wise-ass student called from the back of the class. Lola rolled her eyes,

"That, and wearing Stetsons." She said seriously, "It just wasn't a Friday night without the mechanical bull, either."

Maggie laughed along with the rest of the class,

"Well girls, if you'd like to take your seats over there, we can begin."

"Oh…goody…" Maggie murmured, "Maths…my favorite."

Lola slid into her seat, pulling her notebook out of her satchel. She passed a pencil over her shoulder to Maggie and turned slyly as she did,

"He's kind of cute…" She whispered. Maggie lifted her eyes to the ceiling,

"Focus…please…" She said, pointing at the board, "May I remind you of my brother."

"I know…I was only joking…you really need to relax…" Lola sighed as she turned back around, "Oh God…it's been awhile…what the hell does that symbol mean? I haven't seen that before! Oh God…"

By the time lunchtime rolled around, Maggie and Lola were physically and mentally drained. Carrying their trays through the cafeteria, Maggie moaned,

"I can't believe Maths has actually gotten harder! I mean, who actually uses pi in everyday life? I ask you!"

Lola shrugged,

"I have no idea." She breathed, shaking her head,

"Lola! Over here!" Someone called,

"Who's that?"

"Just some people I met in history earlier."

"Oh…right…"

"Well, I'm off to investigate. You wanna come with?"

"Oh yeah…they'll let me sit down…" Maggie drawled,

"Show a bit of thigh."

"No."

Lola shrugged,

"Screw you then." She smirked, walking off towards the group that were calling her name,

"Hey Maggie…come sit with us." Called a kid with blonde, greasy curtains, severe acne and a lisp caused by a retainer that desperately needed to be cleaned. She raised her eyes to the ceiling again, willing the day to be over. Geeks like Sam she could handle…however, complete and utter nerds…definitely not.

With a sigh she moved to sit down at their table, looking over in Lola's direction to see her laughing and chatting away. She scowled at Lola's instant ability to make friends before turning to the other occupants of her table,

"Sooo…" She began nervously, "How about those equations earlier…?" She asked, half-heartedly,

"Ooh! Yes!" Exclaimed one, "They were rather entertaining…"

Maggie leant her cheek into the palm of her hand, resting her elbow on the tabletop as her mind drifted to her happy place, singing Keane's Is It Any Wonder in her head.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six 

Three forty couldn't come any sooner as Maggie trudged to the Impala, dragging her black canvas bag through the dirt. Dean was leant against the side of the Impala, his hands in his pockets, Sam leaning on his arm out of the open passenger window,

"Where's Lola?" Dean asked. Maggie didn't answer, only pointed over her shoulder. Dean followed her point to see Lola making her way down the steps followed by her own entourage,

"Bye Lola…" They called as she stopped in front of Dean, beside Maggie,

"Good day?" He asked. Before she could answer, their conversation was broken;

"Maggie!"

"Oh God…" Maggie groaned, closing her eyes wearily, "Shoot me…"

"What?" Dean asked, looking around confused before spying a group of greasy nerds headed towards them, "Oh…hey look Sam! Your people!"

"Shut up. I was never THAT bad!" Sam muttered as the other three watched with interest as the group approached Maggie,

"We wrote a song for you Maggie…" One sniffled,

"Oh Lord…" Maggie whispered, looking to the sky for salvation,

"And a one…two…" He began before blowing a note on a harmonica, "Wake up Maggie, I've got a maths equation to put to you…" They sang to Rod Stewart's Maggie May.

Lola covered her mouth in a desperate attempt not to laugh while Dean just simply burst into sidesplitting laughter, bending over and holding his stomach as he did so,

"Yeah…thanks guys…" She remarked, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Maggie!"

Maggie waited until they were at a reasonable distance before reaching her arm out and smacking Dean on the back of the head hard. He rubbed at his hair with a scowl as Maggie stomped around the other side and planted herself in the back seat.

"So how was your day then?" Dean asked as he slowed at some traffic lights, "I never got an answer."

"What are you? My dad?" Maggie frowned, "But if you must know, it was horrible. I had to sit with the nerds at lunch, I've got a bottom locker, I got signed up for calculus without me knowing, I'm going to a dungeons and dragons meet on Monday night…and I swear to God Dean, if you laugh I will scratch your car up so bad it won't even be worth the scrap! Oh…and then you heard my theme tune…"

"…right…" Dean replied, struggling not to laugh,

"What about you, Lola?" Sam asked. Lola shrugged, staring out of the window,

"Not much."

"Oh no…not much at all." Maggie remarked, "She only got asked to the Spring Fling by the hottest guy in school."

"He is not the hottest!" Lola said defensively, "Not by a long run…"

"You said no, right?"

Lola stared at him in disbelief,

"What do you think?"

"No?"

"Of course I said no." She sighed, "Did you find out anything, Maggie?"

"Not really…only that our maths teacher is a replacement of the one that died the other day. What about you."

Lola shook her head,

"No…I didn't hear anything but tomorrow I'll pretend that I heard a rumor from someone and ask someone if it was true…"

"Good idea."

"Are you sure you're okay with the geeks?" She asked,

"Fine."

"But are you sure?"

"I'm fine." Maggie ground out,

"Alright! Chill!" Lola exclaimed, "My goodness! It's like looking at a female Dean!"

The next day, Maggie sat in the library, their dad's journal spread out in front of her, another large book spread out on the other side of that. She was attempting to cross reference vengeful spirits and their appearances in religious settings until a shadow loomed over her. She looked up just in time to see a well-manicured hand reach down and snatch up the journal from under her,

"Hey!" She exclaimed, jumping up from the chair.

"Oh my god, what is this…" the blonde girl cried her voice nasal and high pitched, "…Oh my god its like voodoo or something!"

"Give it back now." Maggie warned, her voice low and stern.

"Eww is that a cats bone!" The girl screeched, moving aside as Maggie made a dive for the book.

"Today I saw Missouri and I learned the truth…" The blonde dictated ducking again from Maggie's reach. "Oh my god, your Dad is more of a freak than you are!"

This last statement was too much to handle, Maggie grabbed the girl's blond locks, pulling her stick like figure almost to the floor. The two girls scrambled across the floor, a crowd gathering around them. Just at that moment, Lola broke through the mob, but not before the red-faced blonde pulled free from Maggie's grasp and hurled her manicured fist into her eye, causing Maggie to fall back into Lola's arms. Lola moved Maggie out of the way before turning and throwing a punch at the blonde. The blond reached out and scratched at Lola's neck, drawing a little bit of blood a split second before Lola's fist landed on her jaw. Lola floored the younger girl by tripping her backwards onto the library floor,

"Touch my friend again and regret it." Lola remarked before turning to come face to face with a nun and two teachers, "Oh crap…"

The scruffy 20 somethings sat slumped in a long bench outside the principles office. Lola held a cold compress to her neck, the cat like scratches burning her skin. Maggie pressed a blue icepack gently to her eye, which was now half closed, swollen and purple.

"Thanks for backing me up." Maggie finally broke the awkward silence.

"No problem." Lola answered, her tone dead pan as she felt around under her hair.

The too girls fell into silence, only broken by the heavy sound of boots approaching. Lola kept her eyes to the floor as the worn black shoes stopped in front of her, she slowly moved her eyes up. Dean looked down at her, one eyebrow raised, slightly amused.

"I can't believe I missed this."

Lola looked up, laughing sarcastically.

"Funny."

"Mr Winchester." A stern voice called from the doorway. He wore a long black cloak, the only colour in a v shaped sash running around the neck of the robe. He looked down at Dean, observing his worn jeans and leather jacket.

"That's me." He replied, chirpily.

"Hmm." The head teacher grumbled, turning back into his office. Dean followed him in and made himself at home on the small wooden chair, opposite the large leather seat that the grey haired man planted himself in, "Mister Winchester…your sister and her friend got themselves into a bit of a scrap this morning, are you aware that Saint Edmunds has a zero tolerance policy on fighting. We're aware that Miss Winchester did not start the fight and so she shall be let off with a warning, however Miss Griffyn was not provoked and did not need to participate so she shall therefore be attending detention for the remainder of the week. I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you that fighting is not becoming of young ladies and should be discouraged within their home environment."

"Well, quite right." Dean nodded seriously, "I shall set them to work on their needlepoint as soon as they get home and I'm sure I'll think of a suitable punishment for Lola…" He smirked, moving to stand,

"Mister Winchester," The teacher began sternly, reaching into his desk drawer and retrieving John's journal. He dropped it onto the desktop with a thud causing Dean to stop dead in his tracks, staring at the book in shock, "literature of this disturbing nature is prohibited within our walls and I'd like to strongly recommend that you supervise these young girls in their future reading habits."

"Oh don't worry…" Dean began angrily, "I'll be doing that."

"Would you like this back to see what they've been reading?"

"Yes." Dean said, snatching it and standing, "Uh…thanks." He added, moving towards the door,

"Oh, and Mister Winchester…?"

"Yes?"

"I'd like to think that as their guardian, you'd be setting a good example…tuck in your shirt please."

Dean looked down at his unbuttoned shirt of his t-shirt and then up again, smiling cheekily before turning and shutting the door firmly behind him. Lola jumped up out of her seat with a wince,

"What did he say?" She asked as Dean stood, breathing heavily through his nostrils as he stared at Maggie. Maggie lifted her head, peering through her one good eye as Dean pointed at her with his free hand,

"You. Car. Now."

Maggie stood up quickly and followed him as he tucked the journal into the inside pocket of his jacket. Lola followed quickly after them,

"You don't actually have to treat us like we're seventeen, you know." She nagged. He grunted in response, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Maggie was still following them. She was indeed until a tall, dark-haired man brushed passed her, sending her off balance a little bit,

"Oh, sorry there!" He gushed, touching her arm gently to steady her, "Maggie?"

Maggie stopped, staring up into his ocean blue eyes with a mixture of disbelief and horror,

"M…Matt…" She stammered, not quite knowing where to look,

"Oh my God Maggie…" He murmured, gently brushing her hair back behind her ear, "What happened to your eye?" He whispered softly,

"Uh…long story…"

"Maggie! Move it!" Dean shouted down the hall, causing Maggie to jump, startled,

"I'm sorry…I've got to go!" She gasped, running off down the hallway to catch up with Dean and Lola, Matt watching after her, stunned.

Lola turned as Maggie caught up as they moved down the stairs towards the waiting car,

"Who was that?" She asked with a grin, "He was hot."

Dean turned and scowled,

"I went to school with him…" Maggie answered,

"That's…vague…" Lola cooed, "What're you hiding?! Ooh! You're blushing!"

"We kinda…dated for awhile…in high school and I am NOT blushing!" She snapped back as they slid into the car. As Dean slammed his door shut, both girls stared in silence as he turned the engine on, turning the dial up on the stereo to full blast. Lola leant forwards from her seat next to him and turned it back down before turning around in her seat to grin at Maggie,

"Seriously though…" She continued, "He was…phew…he was cute." She said with a nod, "I approve. You should date him."

"Lola…" Dean growled, "Shut up." He snapped, turning the dial back up as he continued to drive. Lola once again reached out and turned it down again,

"I don't appreciate the way you're talking to me today. Perhaps I should get back on the road alone and let you three handle this by yourselves." She said stubbornly, waiting a couple of minutes for an answer, "I didn't think so. Apology accepted." She smirked, turning and giving Maggie a wink before mouthing, "Date him."

"Yeah and like maybe later, like, we could so totally do one another's like make-up and then like totally bleach our like hair."

Lola rolled her eyes,

"I was just trying to have a little fun." She mumbled, sulking in the front seat as she fell into silence. She suddenly leant forwards and turned the dial of the stereo back up to full before turning her face to the window and pressing her forehead against the cold glass.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven 

As the car pulled up into the motel parking lot, Dean turned to Lola expectantly,

"Go inside." He said tensely. Lola looked between the two of them before knowing better than to argue. She climbed out and wandered into the motel room to warn Sam.

Dean took in a breath, staring at Maggie in the rear-view mirror,

"What's it gonna be, Daddy? Stop my allowance for a few weeks? Ground me perhaps?"

"You're not funny." Dean answered seriously,

"I think I'm hilarious." She smiled back,

"Damn it, Maggie." Dean growled, "You could've compromised the whole job! If you two had got yourselves expelled that would've been the end of the hunt! That spirit could've gotten away and we haven't even found it yet! You've been so careless."

"I guess it runs in the family then, eh Dean?"

"This isn't about me."

"Whatever." Maggie muttered, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut. Dean followed and as he attempted to follow her through the motel room door, she turned and slammed it in his face unsuccessfully as he grabbed it with his arm, slamming it back against the wall making Sam, who was cleaning and dressing Lola's wound, jump, along with the auburn-haired hunter. The two exchanged worried looks as Dean stomped up to Maggie, gabbing her arm tightly,

"Where did you get the journal from, anyway?" He asked,

"Don't touch me!" She shot back, pulling her arm away roughly,

"Let's get a beer." Sam said to Lola as she pulled her hair back off of her face,

"Yeah…" She agreed, running off to get changed,

"What were you doing with it, anyway? You're not a hunter and you never will be! Stop trying to be something that you're not."

Maggie narrowed her eyes at him,

"Well I hate to break this to you Dean but you're not daddy's golden boy anymore!" She shouted back. Sam's eyes widened as the words left Maggie's mouth. He looked over to Lola, who'd just emerged from the bathroom, looking equally as awkward and moved around the edge of the room to join her,

"Bye guys…" He called softly,

"Where're you two going?" Dean spat,

"Well, call me crazy…" Lola began, "But I don't fancy standing here watching you two tear one another apart for the millionth time,

"Oh that's fine…we're done here." Maggie said with a bitter smile,

"No. We're not." Dean insisted, "I don't get you…" Dean murmured as Sam and Lola left quietly and unnoticed, "You're always going on about how I'm your brother and how you want us to be close and how we should just accept what our dad did, but when I try to be your older brother and come down on you like I do Sammy, you just don't want to know. What the hell is your problem?! Either you want me to be your brother or you don't. Figure it out and let me know."

"Sam doesn't tear me a new one every time a step a foot out of line with his! All you do is yell and scream or ignore me!" She snapped before lowering her voice, "After Lola died I was there for you one hundred percent but have you shown me a single bit of gratitude or the same kind of understanding? No. No how are you feeling? Or any words of comfort because I cared about her too! Sam and I both did and then we had to watch you destroy yourself after that, we thought we were going to lose someone else…and you STILL haven't said sorry for killing my mom!"

"I thought you were over that…"

"Over it?!" Maggie fumed, "You shot her cold dead in front of my very eyes! Tell me that wouldn't screw your head around!"

"I had to do it and you know that."

"I'm happy she wasn't suffering anymore, but come on Dean a bit of sympathy?"

Sam sat down opposite Lola at the bar, sliding her a glass of double vodka and lemonade across the table. She took it with a smile and nodded a thanks as the pair looked down into their drinks,

"Lola," Sam began carefully, "I'm sorry if I made it seem like I wasn't happy to have you back. I am. I'm very happy…I was just so preoccupied with what he'd done. I'm sorry."

"It's okay Sam." She reassured, "I'll forgive you because you bought me a drink."

"I missed you." He said, looking down into his beer bashfully, "It wasn't quite the same, you know?"

Lola nodded slowly, wondering why Sam was acting so strange,

"Are you okay?" She asked, leaning down slightly to look into his face,

"Truth is…" He breathed, "I'm not."

"Sam, what's wrong?"

"It's about Dean."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but Maggie and I discussed it the other day and we agreed it would be the best thing if you knew."

"Knew what…" Lola asked warily,

"When you died, Dean took it really hard." He said softly, toying with the neck of his beer bottle, "It got to the point where he'd come back unable to stand up. He looked like hell. He wasn't sleeping and he was barely eating. He was constantly drinking. He was drunk the night you returned. We tried to help him and confront him but he just threw it back into our faces. He swore he didn't have a problem…but I think it's pretty obvious that he does."

Lola nodded her head slowly, staring at a blank spot on the floor,

"I always thought Dean was stronger than that."

"Your death hit him hard, Lola, like I said…he just…stopped functioning."

Lola took in a deep breath,

"Well…" She looked down at her hands; "I'm shocked because I always pictured Dean as someone who wouldn't let anything stop him. Y'know…what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"Are you angry with him?"

"No…" She murmured, "I'm devastated that he'd have such a blatant disregard for his own life after the sacrifices that we've all made for him. His selfishness amazes me sometimes, it really does…but unfortunately, I love him very dearly, so I am stuck in this hopeless land and standing by his side."

Sam cracked a smile,

"I'm sure he'll be fine now."

"That remains to be seen." She breathed as tears began to trickle down her cheeks, "How could he…?" She rasped as Sam stood in a hurry, rushing over to wrap his arms around her comfortingly,

"I'm sorry Lola…"

The bar door opened and in stormed Dean and Maggie, still furious with one another, though they'd thought it would be in the interest of the hunt to join up with the others. Dean stopped beside the table, frowning at his brother and Lola,

"What's going on?" He asked.

Lola turned her eyes to him angrily,

"Dean…" She said carefully, grabbing her near-full glass. Before anyone could react she chucked the entire contents into his face, "There. You should like that." She stated before turning, "And don't you dare follow me because I swear to God Dean Winchester I will kick your ass!" She growled over her shoulder before disappearing out of the bar. Dean blinked in shock before turning to Sam, an eyebrow raised,

"Have a nice chat?" He asked, trying to hold back his anger, "Women…" He huffed as he dropped into what had been Sam's seat, swigging his beer,

"Uh…Dean…" Sam began carefully, "Perhaps you should have some juice."

"What the hell are you going on about?" Dean snapped, "What did you say to Lola, anyway?"

"The truth."

"Meaning…"

"Dean…I told her about your drinking."

Dean slammed the bottle down on the table top, staring Sam down with an unimpressed look,

"Hey Maggie…"

"Matt!" Maggie beamed, nervously wringing her hands together as she turned and smiled up at him, "Uhm…this is my brother Sam," She said, motioning to Sam who nodded in greeting, "and that's Dean. Boys, this is Matt."

"It's nice to meet you." Sam said as he extended his hand,

"Yeah…" Dean agreed dryly as he reached over his hand, "Matt, isn't that a kind of rug?" He asked thoughtfully. Maggie kicked him in the calf before giggling nervously,

"Would you like a drink?" Matt asked, looking at Maggie,

"I'll have a whiskey." Dean said, but wet unnoticed,

"I'd love one." Maggie sighed as she and Matt wandered off to the bar,

"Come on." Sam said to Dean, "Let's head back."

"Is it my bed time?" Dean remarked as he finished Sam's beer and stood to leave, following Sam who smiled reassuringly at Maggie,

"You'll have to excuse them…" She said to Matt with a sigh, "It's been a tough month."

"I could've guessed, if that public display before was anything to go on. So am I to guess that your friend isn't seventeen, either? I mean…if she's throwing drinks around in bars?"

"That's Lola."

"So what brings you to Saint Edmunds?"

"I just…kind of…fancied getting my diploma."

"You're a bit far from home, aren't you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, "So what's the REAL reason?"

"It's uh…complicated. I'd love to tell you but I think my brother would actually kill me."

"…fair enough." He smiled, "Let's not endanger you then." He joked, "I always wondered what happened to you. You just disappeared one day and I never heard from you again…"

"What would you like to hear first? My mother going insane or finding out that my biological father's dead?"

"Oh Maggie…" Matt breathed, "I'm so sorry."

"That's okay…I have Sam and Dean…well…I have Sam…I'm still working on Dean."

"And your drink throwing friend." Matt laughed softly,

"Yeah, her too!" Maggie giggled, "So what're you up to?"

"I'm teacher training at Saint Edmunds." He said seriously,

"Oh…and how's that working out for you?"

"Well…besides the teachers getting killed off…good. Sorry…that was rather insensitive, huh?"

Maggie shook her head,

"I hadn't heard about that…" She lied.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight 

The next morning, the motel room door opened with a slight creak. Maggie, sporting dark glasses, peered through, seeing that Lola and Sam were in their beds and Dean was nowhere in sight. She crept through the room on her tiptoes to flop down onto her bed as quietly as possible. Her eyes had just drifted closed when suddenly a great weight jumped atop of her bed,

"MORNING MAGGIE!" Lola cried, jumping up and down a little as she sat on the edge of the bed, "You look…beautiful…"

"Shhhh."

"Sooo…" She began sweetly, "You never came back last night."

"Where'd you go to?" Sam asked as he sat up, grinning at her,

"People…I have a headache…" She groaned, "Can we save the questions for later?"

"No." They both answered together as Lola flopped backwards on top of Maggie,

"Ugh. We slept in his VW camper van."

"Wow…I bet that was comfy…" Lola rolled her eyes,

"It was…actually…" Maggie answered dreamily. Lola gasped, sitting up and covering her mouth,

"Sounds like someone did a little more than talking!"

"I'm not telling…"

"Oooh! You so did!" Lola cried, giggling,

"Well at least someone's getting some…" Dean muttered from the bathroom doorway,

"Dean, you look like crap." Maggie observed,

"I slept in the bath. That's why."

"Why on earth would you sleep in a bath?"

"Because my bed was taken."

"You smelt like booze." Lola said matter-of-factly,

"Yes, the booze you threw over me."

"That's irrelevant. You weren't going to share a bed with me smelling like you did." She said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest, "So either you get another room or continue sleeping in the bath. It's your decision."

"Why don't you get another room?"

"Oh kay!" Sam exclaimed, "How's about we get some information about this spirit then?"

"No need!" Maggie beamed, "I did more than just…yes, well…anyway…I got some information last night."

"Oh?" Lola asked, "What?"

"There's a rumor going around that a nun is behind the killings. Or rather…the spirit of a nun."

"And were you drunk at this point?" Dean asked skeptically,

"No…" Maggie answered sternly, "In the fifties, when they were still using nun's as teachers, one of them committed suicide by hanging herself from the top of the English block stairs."

"From being there…I can sympathize with that feeling." Lola muttered,

"Maybe the reason she did it was because she didn't approve of them bringing ordinary teachers into a Catholic school and that's why so many teachers have died…oh Lord…Matt…"

"Maggie…this is serious." Lola said sternly, "Think about your sexual conquests later."

"Matt's a student teacher!"

"I'm sure he's fine."

"But…you're missing the point!" Maggie said seriously, "There are things that are considered very un-Catholic…"

"Oh…OH!" Lola cried, covering her mouth, "We should check."

"I'm on it." Sam said standing and running off to find his laptop. Lola placed a reassuring hand on Maggie's shoulder,

"Don't worry. Sam'll check into it and if we have any cause for concern, we'll warn him. We'll find a way to protect him."

"Thanks." Maggie smiled. Lola nodded before looking over at Dean who was leaning against the bathroom door.

"Okay…here's an interesting fact…that Maths teacher, Miss Smith…was pregnant." Sam said. Dean shrugged,

"And?"

"She wasn't married, Dean."

"And?"

Lola dropped her head in defeat,

"That's not allowed in Catholicism."

"…Mister Johnson recently came out…" Sam continued thoughtfully, "…one of the others had an abortion and the other two had an affair with one another…"

"Maggie…you should call your teacher friend." Dean said seriously. Maggie nodded and moved to find her phone,

"So what's the plan now?" Lola asked, "How are we going to trap the spirit?"

"Perhaps we could go undercover to this…" He said, handing Lola a leaflet about the Spring Fling, "It's the only excuse Dean and I could have to get into the school and everyone'll be occupied with the dance to notice us slip away."

"Good idea." Lola nodded, "You're a clever one, huh?"

"I try." Sam joked,

"Wait a minute…do I have to wear a tux?" Dean asked,

"I believe so…unless you wanna sneak over the wall and I'll take that cute guy from the baseball team…"

"I'll wear the tux." Dean muttered, crossing his arms over his chest before turning to Maggie, "Did you get through to him?"

"There's no answer. He's probably setting the place up or something…" She sighed, "What's the plan?"

"Put on your dancing shoes." Lola said as she stood, "Looks like we've got dates for the dance."

Maggie frowned before looking over at Sam and Dean,

"Oh…my God."

"It won't be so bad." Dean grinned, "Sam shines up nicely, don't you Sam?"

"Only problem is, everyone knows you're my brothers."

"They know Dean's your brother." Sam corrected, "I'm Lola's brother."

"Awh…hey bro'!" Lola called from across the room, "Seriously though…hair up…or down…?"

Everyone stared at her in disbelief before Maggie finally piped up,

"Oh my God, it's California Barbie!" She cried in a high-pitched mocking tone. Lola grinned and turned away so that no one saw the heavy sigh she gave as her eyes turned to the floor sadly.

Later that night, the Impala pulled up outside of the school, the moonlight bouncing off of its bonnet. With a click of high-heels, the girls stepped out, dressed to the nines. Lola smoothed her hands down over her white gown, looking awkward and out of place. Maggie pulled at the bodice of her wine-coloured dress, hitching it up to cover her cleavage better,

"Are these flowers necessary?" Maggie grumbled as she looked down at her corsage. Lola shrugged,

"It doesn't matter, does it?" She asked, "We're not here to dance."

"Hey!" Dean called, "Aren't you supposed to hold my arm or something?"

"Possibly." She sighed as she walked backwards slightly, linking arms with him, "Happy?"

"Are you wearing jeans under your dress?" He asked with a frown,

"…maybe. Well I can't run around the school in a dress, can I?"

The foursome walked into the large school hall, the ceiling decked with steamers and balloons. Round tables framed the room, white tablecloths draped over. Small tea lights flickered as people got up and sat in their seats.

Maggie looked out over the hordes of hormone-enraged boys and over dressed girls, scanning the large room for Matt.

"Any sign of your man?" Lola asked, her voice barely audible over the loud music.

"No" Maggie called back, leaning in slightly towards her.

"We should head to the English block." Dean suggested.

The three nodded in agreement and they quickly ducked out of the hall.

"Lola are you done yet?" Dean called through the door of the ladies bathroom, shifting his gaze from his left and then to the right, on the look out for any members of staff.

"Much better." Lola sighed, stepping out of the bathroom, back in the comfort of her jeans and small tank top she had managed to pull her dress over.

"Are we ready?" Dean said, slightly exasperated.

"Yes dear." Lola answered sarcastically, her eyebrows raised.

The duo walked round the corner, catching up with Sam and Maggie, who had gone on ahead whilst Lola changed into more practical garb.

"Okay…" Dean began, tugging loose his black tie and undoing the top button of his crisp white shirt, "…lets do this."

As they approached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the classrooms of the English block, the foursome paused looking up to the beams at the top of the stairwell. Taking a deep breath they started the climb up the four floors of the block. When they reached the first floor Dean pulled out the small shotgun from his smart black blazer.

"How the heck did you get that in here?" Sam asked frowning in disbelief.

"Now that would be telling." Dean smiled. "Okay me and Sam will take this floor, you girls check out the next one up and we'll meet on the third."

"Are you sure you don't want to keep an eye on me…you usually do?" Lola questioned skeptically.

"I'm sure you'll be fine one floor away."

"You know what…" Maggie began, leaning against the wall, gathering up the long skirt layered around her legs, she pulled her foot up and rested it on her knee, "I'm not going any further until I get these damn shoes off." Leaving the red strappy heals on the floor, she and Lola started up the stairs, leaving the boys on the first floor.

"So…you and Dean okay now?" Maggie spoke, trying to break the eerie silence that filled the dark classroom.

"Yeah I think so…apart from the fact that he almost killed himself because of me." Lola answered opening a cupboard door, shining her flashlight in it, and then closing it again.

"He did it out of love though." Maggie offered as a comforting thought, Lola looked back, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah it doesn't really make it any better really does it?"

"No." Lola replied simply.

The girls were about to move on the adjacent classroom when they heard a terrifying cry come from the floor below them.

"LOLA…MAGGIE!"

They raced down the carpeted stairs, skipping two as they descended. Sam was stood at the bottom, his arms outstretched, his face hot with panic.

"Dean's gone!"

"What do you mean he's gone, I thought you were with him?" Lola asked her voice raised but calm.

"I was but he took this room and I took the other." Sam answered, pointing to the room that stood opposite them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine 

Lola dug her hands up in her hair and let out a long and soothing sigh,

"We need to find him. He's not likely to run off by himself." She said rationally,

"Let's head back upstairs and search the rooms." Sam said. Maggie nodded in agreement,

"Let's split up and shout if you see anything."

"Right." Sam and Lola agreed as the trio headed up the stairs quickly. They each took a room before moving onto another and then another, working their way up to the fourth floor.

Lola made her way to the far end of the building, pushing open a large set of doors that led to a lecture theatre. She stopped suddenly as above the stage was five figures, nooses around their necks, their feet resting a top of a long table that stretched across the stage, though this wasn't the most startling thing.

The thing that scared Lola was that at the far right hand side of the line up was Dean, his hands bound tightly behind his back,

"Dean!" Lola cried, before screaming out for Sam and Maggie. Lola raced through the rows of seats to the front. As she approached, she felt a cold chill and a breeze whip past her. She glanced over her shoulder quickly to look for Maggie and Sam and when she turned around, she came face to face with that of the pale, grey nun, a sore-looking red rope mark around her neck, a thin trickle of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. Lola gasped, stumbling backwards slightly as Maggie and Sam burst into the theatre.

The nun kept her cold grey eyes fixed on Lola's face as she waved her arm, the table sliding backwards on the stage, causing the five men to drop suddenly,

"DEAN!" All three screamed in unison as they were forced to watch Dean dangle before their eyes, struggling for breath. Lola jumped up on the stage, not really knowing what to do. She lunged forwards, grabbing his legs and attempting desperately to lift him up. She wrapped her arms around his legs and pushed upwards, squeezing her eyes closed from the strain of his weight on her frame and from the sound of him choking for breath. Sam and Maggie ran up on stage also, Sam puling a knife out from his boot to cut Dean down with, only to be knocked back by the nun. Another wave of her arm and Sam shot across the lecture theatre and against a wall, slumping to the floor with a groan,

"Maggie…" Lola croaked, "He's too heavy…we have to get them down…"

"The…others…" He choked, "Save the others."

Maggie looked around in a panic before spying Dean's shotgun lying forgotten on the floor. She ran to it as the spirit approached Lola, her hands outstretched for the girl's neck as she stumbled under Dean's weight. Aiming the shotgun at the spirit, she fired off a round of rock salt, causing the spirit to disperse. As she disappeared, the five nooses too disappeared, dropping their victims to the floor with a sickening thud. Lola ended up squashed beneath the eldest Winchester as he fell. She scrambled to her knees and touched his face,

"He's not breathing…" She said as she leant her ear to his mouth. Maggie moved towards Dean and Lola on the floor before noticing a familiar face at the opposite end to her brother,

"Matt…" She whispered, dropping to her knees and moving him onto his back, "Matt…it's Maggie…wake up…" She said softly, gently shaking him. She felt for a pulse and listened for his steady breathing, "Okay Lola…" Maggie began sternly, "Copy what I do…right…squeeze Dean's nose, take in a breath and perform C.P.R. Do it twice." Maggie instructed. Lola nodded, doing as she was told, copying Maggie, "Now pump on his chest thirty times."

Lola did as she was told, but to no avail. She started again as hot tears fell from her jaw and onto Dean's motionless face,

"Dean please…" She whimpered as she began compression again. With a cough and a splutter he took in a wheezing breath. Lola eased him to sit up, resting his head against her chest as she wrapped her arms loosely around his shoulders, "Thank God…" She whispered as he began to breath normally. Lola looked over at Maggie who was still trying to resuscitate Matt. Just as Lola was about to move to her friend's side and comfort her when Matt began spluttering for breath. Lola let out a sigh of relief as Sam staggered up beside her, rubbing at his head. He looked at the remaining three, who'd never had a chance and sighed, dropping down beside his brother,

"You okay?"

"You should've helped them." Dean said, looking up at Lola sadly, "You should've left me."

Lola shook her head,

"I could never of lived with myself if I'd watched you die."

"Now their bloods on our hands. You could've done something. I was so stupid to wander off."

Matt gasped for breath, looking up at Maggie as he did. She soothingly stroked his face as his breathing evened out until he could speak,

"I take it…this is why you're here…" He wheezed, sitting up and looking at her as he rubbed at his neck, "You saved my life."

"You need to get out of here. It's not safe."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine. I've got my brothers looking out for me." She said with a weak smile, "Just keep yourself safe."

"I've really missed you, Maggie." He said honestly, "I don't want to lose you again." He added,

"I hate to interrupt…" Sam began as he approached, one of Dean's arms draped around his shoulders, "we need to get Dean out of here and re-think this."

Maggie nodded,

"Come on…" She said, helping Matt to his feet,

"So is this what you've been doing?" Matt asked,

"Uhm…yeah…sort of…"

"…" Matt didn't know what to say as she helped him down the stairs, "Not your usual nine to five then." He joked, "I guess it brings a whole new meaning to family business."

"You have no idea…" Maggie murmured,

"Perhaps I could help? I know my way around the school better than you two could. From what I understand, you spent most of your time avoiding the nerds and she was in detention more than class." He said, pointing to Lola, "I could help."

"No." Maggie said with a firm shake of her head, "It's too dangerous."

"Now you really do sound like Dean." Lola muttered, "We could use the help, Maggie."

"Lola's right…how are we supposed to get in the school after dark?" Sam asked, "Security will be strict."

"Your brother has a point." Matt said, "It will be nearly impossible for you four to get in after school hours. You need my help."

"Okay…fine…" Maggie sighed in defeat.

Sam shut his door and looked over to his brother who was rubbing at his neck soothingly,

"You okay, man?"

"How can I be? Three people died tonight because of me."

"They didn't die because of you." Maggie reassured,

"If Lola hadn't of wasted her time on me, she could've helped someone else. She should have just left me."

"I was not going to leave you hanging there, Dean." She snapped, "And besides, blue is SO not your colour!"

"Okay…I want to talk to you. Right now." He said sternly before looking at Sam expectantly. Sam took the hint and gently took Maggie's arm,

"I think we should head inside."

"Yeah." Maggie agreed as the two headed for the motel room.

Lola leant back against bonnet of the Impala, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at him, waiting for him to begin,

"Well?" She asked impatiently,

"Why're you acting like this? Since you've come back, it seems like you can't be serious about anything! The old Lola took hunting seriously. It was her job. Her life. Why the hell are you behaving like some brain dead moron?"

"I'm happy to be back. That's all."

"Who're you trying to convince? Me or you?"

Lola sighed heavily, toying with her fingers as she stared at the ground,

"Listen Dean…I'm behaving the way I am because I need to convince myself that everything's okay because if I let myself get serious for five minutes, I remember everything…how I really am all alone now and how I can never go back to having a normal life. Ever again. All hope of seeing my friends or my brother again is lost. I might as well be dead."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I brought you back…I was just thinking about myself, huh?"

"You meant well…I just…I need time to sort my head out, alright? I promise I'll try harder to be the old Lola so long as you make a promise to me."

"What's that?"

"This whole…year to live thing…"

"Hmmm…"  
"Don't give in to it." She said gently, "You brought me back and I am sure as hell not going to watch you die." She said sternly, "We'll figure a way out of it. I promise you that. I'll stop at nothing."

Dean smiled weakly, taking a step closer and placing a hand on her cheek,

"Thank you." He said honestly,

"No problem." She answered with a grin, "Shall we head back inside."

"Nah…let's stay out here for awhile…" He said with a shrug.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten 

The next evening Maggie and Sam stood at the gates of the school, waiting for Matt to appear to let them in through the tradesmen entrance. Dean was wandering around a few meters away, talking on his mobile phone,

"…right, okay. Well, head down here when you've burnt the bones and give me a call when you get here, alright? Yeah…I know. You too. Alright. Yeah. Bye." He slid his phone shut and turned back to his siblings,

"Is Lola going to be okay by herself?" Maggie asked cautiously,

"Oh yeah…she loves hanging around in crypts." Dean dismissed, waving a hand in the air. At that moment, Matt appeared, looking confused,

"Who does?"

"Lola." Maggie and Sam answered together,

"Right…well whatever gets her motor running…" He said, eyebrows raised and a tiny shake of his head,

"That and a surly demeanor." Maggie joked,

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Dean frowned,

"Nothing…"

"Are we going…?" Sam asked impatiently, as Matt opened the gate for them. Maggie took Matt's keys and stood, looking at him expectantly,

"What?" He asked,

"You need to get out of here." She said seriously, "Get yourself somewhere safe and stay there until I call you. It's important that you stay away."

"I'm worried about you."

"Don't be. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Call me as soon as."

Dean rolled his eyes,

"God…this is almost unbearable…will you just kiss her so we can get on with this?"

Matt and Maggie fidgeted awkwardly,

"I…uh…I'll speak to you later." He said, giving her a quick hug before walking off into the darkness. Maggie whirled around to glare at Dean,

"Considering that comment came from you…" She began, "Probably the worst person I've ever met for dancing around intimacy in my entire life!"

Sam pursed his lips together so as not to laugh, listening to his siblings talking to one another the way they were as he followed them up to the English building.

The trio walked attentively up the stairs, stopping on the fourth floor, the last place the spirit was seen. They each took arrow of seats, Sam to the far right, Dean to the left and Maggie walking down the middle row.

Shinning their flashlights over the room, looking up in the rafters, the siblings found the silence unsettling.

"You guys see anything yet?" Dean looked over to Maggie, who blinked as he shone the light in her eyes.

"Nope…nothing." She answered with a frown.

"How bout you Sammy?.…Sam…"

Maggie turned her head to the right, disturbed to see that Sam was no longer there.

"Damn it!" Dean exclaimed, turning on his heals he raced up and put of the large lecture theatre. As he blasted through the doors he froze in his tracks what he saw chilled him, a sickening feeling filled the pit of his stomach as he saw his brother hanging down the center of the stair well.

"No." He breathed through gritted teeth as Maggie came bounding out of the room.

"Oh my god!"

Dean rushed down the steps so that he was within reach of Sam's legs, Maggie followed and the too struggled to pull him in and relieve the tension of the noose that was wrapped around Sam's neck.

As the colour began to drain from his face, Sam clawed at the rope, chocking for breath. Dean looked up, beads of sweat collecting on his forehead, as he did so he spotted the nun floating at the top of the stairs, a cold smile on her pale face. He frowned, anger swelling from inside and without warning let go of Sam's legs and chased after the spirit.

"Dean what are you doing!? Maggie yelled, suddenly being left with the full weight of her brother.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Dean pulled out his shot gun and aimed it at the spirits head,

"No…wait I cant hold him!" Maggie called as she saw Dean about to blow the spirit away, but it was too late, with a bang and a clink of an empty shot gun shell, Sam plummeted through her grip, grabbing frantically for anything Maggie caught the rope that was still wound round Sam's neck, causing him to choke again.

"Dean, grab his legs…!" She ordered, panic and fear echoing in her voice, "….pull him in!"

Jumping down the stairs, Dean reached out for his brother and pulled him, Maggie let go of the rope, her hands red raw with the struggle and weight. She looked down over the banister breathlessly. "Is he okay?"

"He's okay." Dean called back, relief in his voice.

Maggie slumped back against the wall in exhaustion, sitting for a moment's rest before pulling herself up and joining her brother's on the lower floor.

"Come on…lets find Lola and find out why the hell she didn't burn the bones." Dean suggested, holding up his brother as they carefully made their way down the steps and out of the building.

As the three got to the gates, they were surprised to see Lola sitting waiting for them on the bonnet of her truck. She spotted them slipping her phone back into her pocket as she hopped down onto the road, frowning as she rushed to the boys' sides, helping Dean with Sam,

"Sam! What happened…?" She asked, looking at his swollen neck in horror,

"It's a bit…of a long story…" He croaked,

"What the hell happened to you?!" Dean demanded, "Why didn't you burn the bones?"

Lola frowned, looking between the three of them in confusion,

"I…did…" She answered carefully, "Why? Is it still in there?!"

Dean laughed bitterly,

"I think it's a safe bet to say yes." He remarked, "That psycho bitch almost killed Sam!"

"Hmmm…"

"Are you sure you burnt the right corpse?"

Lola sent Dean a withering look,

"Do I look like an amateur? Yes I burnt the right corpse! I didn't exactly have much to choose from!" She snapped, "There must be something else keeping it here. An object…"

Matt approached nervously,

"How'd it go?" He asked casually,

"Uh…" Maggie trailed off, "Not so good." She sighed, "Looks like burning the bones didn't work."

"Is there an object that might be related to the spirit?" Sam asked, rubbing at his neck,

"What do you mean? Like the noose she used?"

"Yeah…do you know where it is?"

"It's on display in the town's museum."

"Okay…pretty gruesome…" Dean observed, tilting his head slightly, "We need to burn that then."

"Can you show us where the museum is?" Maggie asked Matt,

"What, now?"  
"Yes now." Dean answered,

"But…it's closed."

"…yes…and?"  
"Do you mean break in?!"  
"Well we can't smash a display case and burn a piece of the town's history in broad daylight." Lola said simply, "It'll have to be now before anyone else gets hurt."

"Okay. Good point." Matt agreed, "Let's go."

Lola moved around and clambered up into her truck whilst Dean helped Sam back to the Impala, leaving Maggie and Matt standing awkwardly,

"Uhm…thanks for helping, by the way…" She mumbled,

"That's okay." He said with a shrug, "Makes a change from my usual nights in."

Lola leant out of her window,

"Are you two coming? Get in. I'm tired." She smirked. Maggie rolled her eyes, motioning for Matt to get into the truck as the Impala pulled up alongside of the truck, it's engine quietly rumbling in anticipation.

Dean stood in front of the large glass display case with a look of disgust. He shook his head,

"It amazes me that people would actually want to look at this…" He mumbled as he pulled out a small metal pick, moving to fiddle with the lock on the door. Maggie raised her eyes to the ceiling before raising her arm and slamming her elbow down into the glass, shattering the cabinet inwards. She turned to see Matt staring at her in disbelief. She grinned sheepishly,

"What? It saves time…" She cringed. He cracked a smile and nodded in slow agreement.

Sam lit a match as Dean covered the thick rope in lighter fluid. Sam dropped the match and the entire cabinet went up in flame,

"Is anyone else thinking that perhaps we should've just taken the noose out of the cabinet…?" Lola asked as the museums sprinkler system suddenly kicked in. Dean blew at the water trickling down his face before dropping his head,

"Maybe that would've been a good idea." Sam agreed as his shaggy hair flopped in the water, plastering to his face,

"That'll teach you to get a hair cut." Maggie joked.

"So now what?" Matt asked as they left the museum,

"We head back to the school to check." Sam said simply, wiping at his hair as it fell into his eyes, "See if she's still floating around up there."

"And if she is?" Matt asked.

The three hunters stared back at him in silence,

"We re-group." Lola said with an affirmative nod as they headed back to their vehicles to return to the school,

"You should go home." Maggie told Matt gently. He shook his head,

"I've come this far, and judging on your last two experiences, I think you could use my help."

Maggie sighed,

"You're not going to stay away, huh?"

"Nope."

Maggie smiled weakly,

"Thank you."

At this point, Dean returned, his arms out stretched questionably,

"Oh for the love of…" He muttered, "If you're coming, come!" He snapped, "It's almost daylight."

Matt nodded as he followed Maggie to the waiting car, Dean slamming his door impatiently as he climbed in, rolling his eyes at the sickening display of awkwardness that was going on between Maggie and Matt.

"Hello…?" Dean called out as he trod carefully through the corridor of the top floor, "Here nunny nunny…" He continued in a monotone, "Come and get me…I'm thinking impure thoughts…"

"I dread to think…" Sam remarked from behind him, peering around the darkened corners, "Do you think that we're in the clear?"

"I think so."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven 

Outside, dawn was beginning to break. Lola looked up as Sam and Dean trudged from the school's main entrance,

"Done?" She asked. Sam nodded slowly,

"Yeah…"

"Nobody's home." Dean added,

"Great. I guess that means we're done here." She said as she pushed herself off of the side of her truck to stand up strait, "No more undercover in that uniform?"  
"Nope." Sam answered as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "No more detention…"

"Oh…I dunno…" Dean shrugged, "It might be worth holding onto."

"…" Lola stared at him in sheer horror, "Get in the car, Dean."

"It was a joke…y'know…you can relax…" He could be heard muttering as he stalked back to his car, "Hey Maggie! You coming, or what?" He called,

"Shush!" Lola snapped, putting a finger to her lips, "Let her have her moment."

Maggie laughed a little at her brother's antics before turning back to Matt,

"So…I guess you'll be leaving now." He sighed, "I mean…now that you've finished up here. That's why you were here, wasn't it? You were hunting that thing."

Maggie nodded slowly,

"It's kinda the family business." Maggie admitted, "It's a lot of information to give all at once."

"I'm sorry about your mom, Maggie. I really am."

"It's okay." She sighed,

"So I guess this is goodbye then." He mumbled sadly,

"I guess."

"Is there no chance of you maybe hanging around for awhile? I mean…would you like to stay for awhile?"

Maggie smiled sadly, looking back over her shoulder at Sam, Dean and Lola who were gathered around the front of the Impala. She looked back to Matt and smiled, placing her hands gently on his shoulders,

"I would…but…it's complicated…" She breathed, dropping her head, "I mean, I've only really begun to get to know my brothers and…they're all I have left and in our business, let's face it, who knows what's around the next corner?"

"I understand Maggie."

"I'll come back one day though. I promise. I don't expect you to drop everything when I do, but I'll come by to check on you. You have my number. If you ever need me, don't hesitate to call."

"I won't." He murmured, gently cupping her face, his eyes welling with tears, "This'll sound so stupid, but I think I was beginning to fall for you all over again."

Maggie laughed softly, though tears were falling down her face as she did so,

"I'm sorry Matt."

"Hey…don't you worry about it. You have to do what you've got to do. Just know that I'll be looking forwards to you returning."

Before she could reply, he leant her face down to hers, pressing his lips to hers and lingering there for a few seconds before pulling back, gently stroking her cheek with his finger. She took a step back, tears rolling down her face as she did before turning and walking slowly back to the other three, hanging her head as she did. She reached her brothers and Lola, stopping a metre or so away, still staring at the floor. She felt a pair of slender arms go around her soothingly as she rested her cheek against Lola's curly hair,

"You okay?" Lola asked quietly. Maggie nodded slowly before sniffling and looking up at Dean and Sam who were watching her emotional display,

"So…shall we get going?" She asked, drawing in a steadying breath,

"Are you sure?" Dean asked, "You don't have to come…y'know…if you…"

"Stop trying to get rid of me, Dean Winchester." She scolded playfully, "You're stuck with me for life."

"Fair enough. Let's rock and roll." He smiled as he sat in the drivers seat, shutting the door. He leant out of the open window and looked up at her, "It's good to have you on board."

"Thanks."

In the car on the way back to the motel, Sam suddenly piped up,

"I think I found our next case this afternoon while I was doing some research."

"Oh?" Dean asked, "What is it?"

"Up in Washington, some people have been disappearing in the night. There doesn't seem to be a pattern, it's completely random…but thee have been so many, it was red flagged so I figured it might be worth taking a look. There doesn't seem to be much else going on at the moment."

"It's better than nothing, I suppose." Dean sighed as they pulled up at the motel, "So…grab some rest and head out this afternoon?"

"Sounds like a plan." Sam yawned, "Tell Lola, yeah?"

Dean nodded as the three headed towards the motel room drowsily, Maggie opening the door, rubbing at her red-rimmed eyes as she made a beeline for her bed.

Sam turned to watch as his brother headed to Lola's truck that had just pulled up, Lola on her mobile phone as reached forwards and turned the engine off.

Dean waited patiently before he opened her door,

"We're heading down to a job in Washington this afternoon." He said seriously, "Some people have been disappearing."

"I'm not coming."

"What?"

"I'm not going with you."  
"But I thought…wait a minute…why the hell not?"

"Bobby just called. I have to go somewhere."

"Where?"

Lola took in a shaking breath, her grip tightening on the steering wheel,

"The vampire that killed Trey…has resurfaced down in New Orleans." She said slowly,

"And you're going down there to kill it?"

"Yep."  
"Okay…" He said with a nod, "That's fine. We'll go with you."

"No."

"What do you mean?"

"I have to do this alone."

"You're not going by yourself."

Lola rolled her eyes as she jumped out of the truck and started making her way back to her room,

"Whatever Dean…"

"I'm serious. You're not going alone."

"This is something I HAVE to do alone!" She insisted, turning on him and poking him in the chest, "Get it through your skull."

"It's not safe for you to go alone."

"Believe it or not, I survived for years before I ever had the great Dean Winchester to hold my hand!"

"You're not going without me." Dean said firmly,

"Is this about my safety or is this about you being left behind? I cannot honor Trey with you there. It's disrespectful."

"Why?" Dean asked, confused,

"Because…it just…it just is, alright…"

"I swore I'd never let you out of my sight long enough to get hurt. I don't wanna lose you again!"

"You can't stop me."

"You're not going. End of."

"I am, Dean."

"If you care about me at all, you won't go alone."

"Well if you knew me at all, you'd know that this is something I've got to do. I NEED this."

"You're not going, Lola. Not alone." He said firmly. Lola rolled her eyes,

"Okay…fine…whatever…I'm sick of arguing with you. I'm tired. Let's just hit the sack, alright?"

"Thank you." He said, placing an arm around her shoulders.

Later that day, Dean rolled over sleepily, draping an arm onto the blank spot of the bed beside him. His eyes flashed open to see the empty space, causing him to sit up quickly and look around in a panic. He spotted a note on the bedside cabinet, snatching it up he read it quickly before jumping up, pulling on his jeans, boots and a t-shirt. He charged outside to see his car standing alone in the car park. Lola's truck was gone, leaving only a few tyre marks behind. Sam and Maggie appeared behind him,

"What's wrong, Dean?" Maggie asked. Sam pulled the note out of Dean's hand, dropping it to his side with a sigh. Maggie lifted Sam's hand to she too could read the note;

_I'm sorry Dean. Love Lola._


End file.
